Harry Potter and the Phoenix ashes
by mini-mid
Summary: Harry goes back to Hogwarts after a busy summer, ready for year two. He has a new Slytherin following him around and struggles to come to terms with his position as a Slytherin confidant. Malfoy is back with a new outlook on life and Severus has fallen in love. Voldemort is keeping quiet and the wizarding World is going through Changes. not slash!
1. Socks

_**Hi all, here is the first chapter of my sequel to HP and the Phoenix Burning. (To everyone who hasn't read that story, please do because you won't understand this one.)**_  
_**I really hope that you'll like the story, many thanks for reading. Mina**_

**Socks**

* * *

There was nothing better in life than having a sleep-in, followed by a lazy breakfast, knowing that you had nothing planned for the rest of the day.  
Harry and James, who were on their second week of holiday, were enjoying themselves immensely.

"You won't catch it in time!" James called out in warning, watching Harry hurtling towards the ground at high speed.

Harry laughed as he snatched the snitch from the air and rolled over to avoid hitting the ground. He evened out and flew over to the awed James leisurely.  
"Can too." He gasped, still trying to catch his breath after his wild descent.

"That was so…so…you're sure to be on the team Harry!" James stuttered, lost for words. Harry pulled a hand through his hair and laughed at the look on James's face.

"Boys! Come and have some ice-cream!" Mrs Potter called from the house.

"Race you!" James said, before speeding off, leaving Harry to quickly follow. They were laughing as they touched down in the little court yard garden by the kitchen.

"I don't understand how you boys do it! It's sweltering outside, you'll get a heatstroke for sure." Mrs Potter said, placing two bowls full of ice cream on the table, next to the large jug of lemonade that already stood there.

"Thank you mum." Harry said, accepting the cold treat gratefully, it really was rather hot outside. James, who had already started on his, mumbled a thank you. Harry laughed at the dribble of ice-cream that ran down James's chin and Mrs Potter sighed.

"Honestly darling." She said, shaking her head before wiping his chin with a napkin.  
Harry sniggered even more as her action made James look like an overgrown baby, having his mouth wiped by his mummy.  
James gave Harry the evil eye, but clearly decided that the ice-cream was more important as he didn't retaliate.

"Where's dad? He said we could go to Diagon Alley this week." James asked, making his mother sigh again.

"In the library as usual, you can try to get him out if you want." She answered, before re-entering the house with an irritated huff. The boys eyed each other quietly and there was a short moment of silence.

"You should ask him Harry! You got the best grades out of the two of us." James suggested, making Harry roll his eyes.  
"Please! I really need some new Zonko stuff and he promised that we could go get a treat as a well done." James whined, giving Harry a pleading look. Harry rolled his eyes again and nodded before stuffing his mouth full of ice-cream. James smiled, pleased that he'd gotten out of that one.

An hour later, Harry quietly entered the library and looked around at the books that had been strewn around the room. Mr Potter sat by his desk muttering to himself, whilst crossing things off on a scroll laid out on the table.  
Harry cleared his throat and sighed when he didn't get a reaction. Mr Potter had been like this ever since they returned home. He was obsessed with his books and spent hours reading and making notes. He'd even missed dinner a few times, which had caused some friction between him and his wife.

"Um, dad?" Harry said, clearing his throat when his voice broke. He hated going through the whole becoming a teen again.  
Mr Potter looked up absentmindedly and nodded.

"Yes, yes that sounds good." He said, making Harry blink confusedly.

"Can we go to Diagon Alley today?" Harry asked after a while of silence.

"Yes, yes please do." Mr Potter answered.

"Alone?" Harry asked.

"Yes, yes that sounds like a good idea." He answered waving his hand at Harry in dismissal.

Harry eyed him a moment longer before exiting the room. James, who'd hovered outside the door, gave him a hopeful look.  
"Um, he said we could go. I think." Harry said feeling confused.

James eyed him, looking equally confused.  
"Can we or can't we?" He asked, making Harry shrug helplessly. Mrs Potter came down the stairs and smiled at them.

"Decided to play inside after all boys?" She asked.

James pouted and crossed his arms at her words.  
"I want to go to Diagon Alley and he promised we would." He grumbled.

"Well go and ask your father then!" She said with a sigh. James eyed Harry pointedly.

"We did, he said we could go." Harry said softly.  
"Um, alone." He added, making both James and Mrs Potter blink.

"Cool!" James gushed, looking beyond excited before spotting his mother face.

She eyed the library door with a dangerous look on her face.  
"Go and get what you need to take with you, we'll be leaving shortly." She said before entering the kitchen stiffly.

"I think mum's a bit cross at dad again." James said, making Harry nod.  
"I wonder what he's doing in there." He said, eyeing the door curiously.

"He had loads of books on warding and protection charms out. So I'm guessing he's still working on that." Harry said, making James groan.

"Oh no! Not again!" He groaned, making Harry nod in agreement.

Mr Potter had gotten very interested in protecting the house, whilst they'd been at school, it seemed.  
Both James and Harry had been subjected to a bit of prodding and poking before being allowed to enter the house, as they'd returned from Hogwarts.

They'd been scared half to death, on the second day back, when one of James Zonko products had set of an alarm. Harry was sure his ears were still ringing from that one.  
And there was the time when Harry had left the garden, to get the ball James had thrown out and the fence had shot up from the ground with Harry dangling stuck at the top. He still had bruises around his neck from that experience.

Things had been very tense between their parents since that happened and Mr Potter had taken to hiding away in the library to work out all the little kinks in the system.

"Are you boys ready? Good, come on then!" Mrs Potter said, urging them out of the house. She attempted to apparate them out and cursed when nothing happened. Harry quickly nudged James, before the boy had a chance to point out the use of swear word to his mother, and gave him a look of warning.  
" Of all the…come on boys!" She bit out, before stalking towards the gate at the bottom of the garden.  
"Hands!" She ordered before they all disappeared with a loud crack.

They appeared outside Gringotts and Mrs Potter took a few deep breaths before eyeing them apologetically.  
"I'm sorry boys, your father is just getting on my nerves at the moment. What do you say to having dinner here after doing some shopping?" She asked, sounding tired.

"That sounds nice." Harry answered carefully, when it became apparent that James wasn't going to open his mouth. She nodded gratefully and they soon found themselves in Zonkos with a beaming James.

"Can I get the new prank pack?" James pleaded, eyeing his mother with astonishment, when she nodded.

"Sure darling." She said, fiddling with a pack of exploding cockroaches. James eyed Harry worriedly and slowly added the pack to their basket.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" James whispered, as they waited for her to pay for his products.  
"She allowed me to buy more stuff today, than all of last year put together." He pointed out, biting his lip hard.

"I think they need to work it out by themselves, but if you were to prank him she might feel better." Harry said thoughtfully, making James nod slowly.

"The bookstore next I imagine?" Mrs Potter asked, ruffling Harry's hair softly before handing James his bulging bag.

"Thank you mum." James said, before giving her a quick hug. She sniffed once and smiled at them before leading the way out of the shop.

Harry bought a book on dragons as it had caught his eye and another about werewolves.

There seemed to be a large number of new books on the subject of werewolves, everything from political standpoints to biographies. It was the first time Harry actually saw the difference Belby's work had done. Sure he'd seen the odd comment here and there in the prophet but the news hadn't really gotten that big.

Harry's name had been kept secret, on the orders of Mr and Mrs Potter who thought that it would be too much, too soon. Harry didn't mind either way, as long as Remus got the potion and his share of the money went to others who needed the help.

"Let's go and get some food boys." Mrs Potter suggested.  
It felt odd knowing that they had left Mr Potter home alone, whilst they were here getting ready to go to a restaurant.

"Dad!" James exclaimed, spotting Mr Potter seated at a table in the restaurant they'd just entered.

"I'm sorry." Mr Potter said, standing up.  
"I just get so focused on the wards and…" He sighed, and shook his head.  
"No more work for a while, I promise." He said eyeing them all.

"I don't mind you getting a hobby and finding enjoyment, but you need to find a balance darling." Mrs Potter said softly.  
"And sending the boys to Diagon Alley on their own, is not something I want you to do again." She added, making him blink.

"I didn't…did I?" He asked, looking surprised at Harry's nod.

"You said it would be a good idea." Harry defended himself, when Mr Potter continued to eye him in disbelief.

"Oh, dear. I guess I have been somewhat absentminded lately." Mr Potter agreed, making his wife snort.

"Only a little." She pointed out sarcastically, before seating herself at the table.

"Can I have some lobster?" James asked, having opened his menu, making both his parents turn in their seats. He sat trying to get his spoon to balance on his finger and nearly cracked his plate when it fell down with a loud bang. Several of the other dinners turned in their seats at the sound and Mrs Potter turned and glared at her husband.

"Can you imagine, what he would have gotten himself into if they'd left on their own?" she asked him softly, making him shudder. He mouthed a sorry, before picking up his own menu.

"That's a lobster James." Harry said, pointing at a fish tank in the centre of the restaurant.

James eyed the grey creatures within, with a look of distaste on his face.  
"Ew! I don't want that! Can I have some of the Calamari thing instead?" He asked, reading from the menu again.

Harry smiled wickedly.  
"Yes you really should try that!" He suggested, making James frown.

"No, you look way too happy. I'll just have some pasta and meat sauce." James finally decided, after a moment of thoughtfully observing Harry's face, making Harry sigh in disappointment.

"I think you would have liked squid." Harry said, reading his own menu.

James made a gagging noise and eyed him crossly.  
"You wouldn't have let me actually eat it would you? That's gross!" James exclaimed making Harry snigger.

"I know, but the look on your face as you tasted it, would have been so worth it." Harry said, sticking his tongue out in answer to James's.

"Boys." Mrs Potter chided softly.

James kicked him under the table and Harry kicked back, making Mr Potter yelp. Both boys eyed him apologetically before busying themselves with their napkins.

A week later saw a much improved mood in the Potter home. Mr Potter had taken to sitting in the library for a few hours after breakfast and then spending the rest of the time with the family.

There had been some discussions about the upcoming party, which both Harry and James were excited about. They'd received word back on who was coming and Mr Potter had returned the bouncy castle he'd ordered. James and Harry had been in agreement that it didn't fit in at a party for two twelve year old boys.  
They had agreed to two of his party games, after Harry had been brought up to speed on magical games.  
He was rather looking forwards to the wizarding version of clean-your-room. He'd never been allowed to join in on any of Dudley's party games and this one had seemed fun, even without magic.

The week before the party arrived quicker than any of the boys could have guessed and the day for Remus arrival had appeared. James was just as excited as Harry, as he'd been promised to go to Frank Longbottom's house for the week as soon as Remus arrived.

"Hi Remus! Can I go now mum?" James asked, as soon as Remus arrived through the floo. Remus eyed him strangely but let it go at Harry's head shake.

"James Potter! Is that any way to greet a friend?" his mother scolded at once, making his shoulders droop.

"Hi Remus, nice to see you." James greeted, dejectedly. Harry couldn't help but laugh at his tone and had to bite his lip hard, at the chagrined look he got from their mum.

"Oh go on! But I want a hug before you disappear on me." Mrs Potter said, smiling into his hair.  
"You have a nice week now and be good!" She added, handing him his bag of clothes. He smiled winningly at her and she frowned.  
"Behave James! I'll hear if you don't." She warned, making him nod quickly.

"I brought all my Zonko stuff, it's going to be great. See you before the party!" James said to Harry and Remus, before disappearing in a flash of fire in the floo.

"That boy!" Mrs Potter grumbled, before turning towards Harry and Remus.  
"Hello dear, how has your summer been so far?" She asked Remus, who gave her a nervous smile.

"It's been really good thank you, Mrs Potter." He answered, making her smile.

"Oh please, call me Dorea. Do you boys want some lemonade?" She asked making them nod.

"Do you want to go out to the garden?" Harry asked, making Remus smile.

They brought out blankets and had a little picnic, in the shade from one of the trees.  
"And I was just hanging there! James went into a panic and then mum came out. Dad was in so much trouble after that one." Harry said, smiling as he retold the events from his summer so far.

"But everything is fine now right? I'm not going to get stuck somewhere or have alarm bells blearing at me, right?" Remus asked, looking a bit apprehensive. Harry laughed and reassured the other boy that things were back to normal. Well mostly.

"So what do you want to do?" Harry asked, making Remus shrug.

"I don't know, do you have any plans?" Remus asked, making Harry shrug in return.

"Well I do want to make a map of Hogwarts. James and Sirius never did finish theirs." Harry said, making Remus nod excitedly.

"We could do that!" He said, sitting up straighter.

"Great, I have some books that might help us and I also made some notes on what I think should be on the map." Harry said, leaning closer to Remus.  
"We'll make it a secret map and it'll have everyone in Hogwarts on it." He added, in a whisper. Remus looked suitably impressed.

That evening they sat on the floor in Harry's room going through the notes he'd made. Remus was even more excited than Harry about the map and made some good suggestions on where to find good charms to place on it.

Mr Potter brought them a midnight snack, before going to bed himself, and the two boys sat giggling long into the night, planning out the best map ever.

The week went by fast and before they knew it James came stumbling out of the floo.

"I had so much fun!" He said in the way of greeting, beaming at them.

"We did too!" Harry said, making James roll his eyes.

"Yeah right! I bet you read books and made loads of notes." He guessed, snorting at the twin looks of surprise he received.  
"I knew you would." He added, laughing at Harry's glare.

"We went flying too, and we helped dad pack up the treasure for the party." Harry protested, making James's eyes light up.

"You've seen the treasure? What is it?" James demanded, eyeing Harry pleadingly.

"Well, Zonko, frogs and galleons should give you a hint." Harry said, making James beam.

"I love the treasure hunt. Everyone gets something and if you don't like it, you just swap." James said, kicking his bag to the side.

"You want to play something?" He asked, eyeing them expectantly.

"Let's go outside, dad finished the preparations. It looks great!" Harry suggested, watching as James tore off towards the kitchen.

"We didn't just read all the time right?" Harry asked Remus who shrugged.

"I had fun and the map is coming along nicely." Remus answered, making Harry nod slowly. He was turning into a book worm and he didn't mind, it was actually rather fun learning new stuff. Who would have thought?

"This is so cool!" James called from outside, making the other two boys go and join him.

The next day all three of them were ready far too early, which meant they had to suffer the agony of waiting for everyone to arrive much longer. They sat in the lounge as that's where the floo would let people in.  
"Are they coming yet?" James asked for the hundredth time, making everyone sigh.  
The doorbell ringing made James fly out of the room at rocket speed.

"It's Lily and Sev!" James called, making Harry smile as he followed at a more sedate pace.

"Happy birthday!" Lily called, at the sight of Harry.  
"Hi Remus." She added. Severus gave Harry a nod and handed him a gift.

"It's from both of us." He said when Harry accepted it. Lily handed one to James, who smiled brightly.

"You didn't get anything on your birthday so here." She said, eyeing his gleeful face with a smile.

The floo activated in the other room and James abandoned everyone and everything as he sped off to see who'd arrived.

"Hello there, you must be Harry, happy birthday!" Harry eyed the tall man standing behind Lily and smiled nervously.

"Hi, yes. Er... I mean thank you." He mumbled, feeling himself colour under the amused gaze of his maternal grandfather.  
"Please come in sir." He added, breathing a sigh of relief at the arrival of his mum.

"Hello, you must be Mr Evans, please do come in. Hello children, Harry will show you to the garden." Mrs Potter said, making Harry lead the way outside.

"Hi Harry!" Sirius called, as James led him and a second boy out into the garden.

"Hi!" Harry greeted, before eyeing Sirius younger brother, who looked slightly unwilling to be there.

"This is my brother Reg." Sirius introduced, looking equally unwilling to have the boy there.

"Hi, I'm Harry. This is Remus, Lily and Severus." Harry greeted.

Regulus sneered in response.

"I'm going to be a Slytherin." He announced, giving them all a defiant stare.

"That's nice, Sev is a Slytherin too, so if you have any questions just ask him." Harry said, smiling at the now unsure Regulus.

"You hang out with Slytherin's? I thought you didn't hang out with blood purists." Regulus said, eyeing Sirius pointedly.

"Whatever, why don't you go and play on your own." Sirius said, rolling his eyes at his brother.

"Frank! Come on over!" James called at the arrival of another guest.

"Alice!" Lily called out a moment later, running up to hug her friend.

"Happy birthday!" Alice greeted, handing James and Harry a present each. Mr Potter motioned for the presents to be placed at one of the tables, to be opened later.

"We're only missing Peter and then we can start the games." James said, looking around.

"Are you really a Slytherin?" Reg asked Severus suspiciously. Severus nodded once and then glared at Harry, who smiled at the sight of the other boy being hit with a barrage of questions from the younger boy.  
"You can come to my party." Reg offered, making Severus glare once more at Harry.  
"They're coming and Lucius Malfoy is going to come. He's a Slytherin too." Reg motioned for Harry and James with distaste and eyed Severus speculatively, to see if the boy would stick with the story of being in Slytherin house.

"Oh is Lucius coming too? Oh well, I guess it will be fine, as long as he doesn't give any more pop quizzes." Harry said, having snuck up on the two boys.

"You know Lucius?" Reg asked sharply.

Sev snorted.  
"Harry pretty much lives down with us in the common room and Lucius is tutoring us both." He said, giving Harry a pointed look.  
"Well I want to say hello to…er…Alice." Severus said before leaving the younger boy with Harry.

"Oy, go and play with a stick or something." Sirius called, making Regulus glare at his older brother.

"Stop harassing my guest." Harry called back to Sirius, who eyed him with surprise.

"But he's annoying!" He defended himself.

"So are you!" Harry pointed out, before rolling his eyes and joining Remus and the girls.

Sirius eyed him with a look of insult and gave his brother a glare.  
Regulus looked between his brother and Harry and slowly moved closer to the birthday boy, with an unreadable look on his face.

"Peter! Peter is here!" James cheered, making the boy in question stumble slightly as he came out of the house with his mother.

"Oh, er…hi everyone!" He greeted, blushing from being in the centre of all the attention. His mother beamed at them all and pushed him into the crowd.

"Right then, shall we begin with a game now that everyone is here?" Mr Potter asked, making James and Sirius cheer loudly.  
"Does everyone know how to clean their room? Good! Two teams then!" He called, watching in bemusement as the children divided pretty evenly into two teams.

Harry had Remus and Severus attaching themselves to his side, before the words teams had left his father's mouth. Lily and Regulus joined him as well, fairly quickly leaving James with the rest. Alice looked slightly apprehensive about being on James and Sirius team. But as Peter joined her, she looked a bit happier.

"Right, rules! Whichever team catches the most socks and manage to keep them in their basket wins." Mr Potter instructed, bringing his wand out.  
"Ready, set and go!" He called, making socks shoot out of the two baskets standing on the lawn.

Lily grabbed hold of Severus arm and took a step backwards as the socks launched into the air. Severus looked very pleased with the situation, until he noticed Harry's stare, at which point he started blushing.  
"Ah! It's tickling me! Help!" Lily called, letting go of Severus arm and grabbing hold of the sock attacking her.

"Put it in the basket!" Remus suggested, making her beam.

"I caught the first sock!" She called out in triumph, making the boys around her act. Soon the garden was full of children climbing over each other in their hunt for socks. Lily had taken over as basket guard as the socks tried to escape. And she was so out of breath from laughing that she couldn't stand up.

Peter was stuck under one of the tables, being tickled and begging for mercy. Regulus and Severus were working together, pursuing socks stealthily. James and Sirius were more likely to attack others than hunt for the socks, Remus had already lost his own socks to the two boys after being pushed to the ground.

The adults too could be heard laughing, as they were standing on the side-line overseeing the game.

When Mr Potter finally called it an end, Harry collapsed onto the ground next to Lily, who couldn't stop hiccupping. He noticed that most of the other guys were on the ground breathing heavily.

"Well! That was very impressive, I must say. Having counted the socks, I hereby announce that Harry's team are the victors." Mr Potter called, making Harry wave his hand tiredly in victory. James who sat holding his head in his hands smiled despite losing.

"But we got Remus socks." He announced happily.

"And shoes." Sirius added, making Remus scowl half-heartedly.

"Drinks and cakes!" Mrs Potter announced, looking awed as all the children stood up and hurried towards the table.  
"Where do they get the energy from?" She mumbled, summoning the cakes.

"I knew you'd get two cakes!" Sirius called as she placed them on the table, before he too joined in with the singing of Happy Birthday.

After having had refreshments, they had a game of treasure hunt. Where Lily found a bag of dung bombs and James found a galleon. Regulus looked happy with his chocolate frog as Sirius found a pink egg.

"What do I do with it?" He muttered, turning the egg round in his hand.

"Put it in a glass of water tonight and you'll see." Harry said ominously, making the other boy grin hopefully.

When it was time for the party to end a general moan of disappointment went out and Mr Potter laughed.  
"I'm beat from just having watched you guys, I can't believe you'd want to do any more activities." He said, making them all eye him as if he was mad.

"I could go on all night!" James announced, getting many nods in agreement.

Harry would laugh at his brother's words later, as James fell asleep over the kitchen table whilst reading his present from Lily and Sev.  
The book of muggle pranks had been a perfect gift for him and Harry loved his new quill and non-smudging ink.

All in all, it was the best party Harry had ever been to. He could hardly wait for Sirius birthday party, which was in two weeks time.  
Before that they had Regulus getting-his-Hogwarts-letter party next week, which was sure to be a hit with Malfoy there...  
The summer felt like an endless party.

* * *

_**So, what do you think? Like? It's a bit fluffy but it's only the first chapter…and it is a birthday party! They're supposed to be fluffy: )  
Looking forwards to hearing what you think. Many thanks, Mina**_


	2. BLACK DAY

**_Hello all, finally an update! This has been lying around in my computer ready for a while I'm afraid, sorry for not posting it sooner...Hope you like:) Mina_**

**Black**** Day**

* * *

It was the morning of Regulus party and Harry was busy wrapping up a present for the boy, overseen by Iggy.  
He was feeling a bit nervous about visiting Grimmauld place again, could he really pretend to never have been there before.  
He was also feeling rather apprehensive about being in the same house as the real Mrs Black, rather than the painting which was terrifying enough.

There was a sudden bang from next door and Harry sighed heavily.  
James's cross mutterings could be heard through the bedroom wall a short moment later and Harry sighed again. They'd been looking through the booklist from their Hogwarts letters the night before, when the talk of homework had been brought up.  
James had forgotten to finish his summer homework, even though he'd promised to have it finished before Regulus party.  
It was one of the conditions of being able to visit the Blacks and James had tried everything to get out of having to finish it before going.

"Are you ready Harry?" Charlus asked, popping his head into the room.

Harry nodded and grabbed the present he'd prepared for Regulus and walked towards his dad.  
"Is James finished?" Harry asked hopefully, pretty sure of the answer.

Charlus shook his head and sighed as there was another loud bang from James room.  
"Dorea will bring him when he's finished his homework." He said, motioning for Harry to start moving.

"I'll be back before you know it, just pop over if you want to." Harry said, glancing at Iggy who gave him a tired look.  
Harry frowned, wondering if he should leave his friend so near to a burning day.  
"What if there is a problem?" Harry asked Charlus, who gave him a soft smile.

"I'm sure Iggy will be fine for the evening, we'll be back again before you know it." His dad said, making him blush a little. Harry gave Iggy a last look before leaving his bedroom.

James peeked out from his room, looking glum.  
"Are you leaving now?" He asked, looking even more down at Harry's nod.  
"Just hurry up and get it done, please!" Harry urged, making James nod before returning to his desk.  
Harry glanced at the floor in his brothers room, which was littered with books, James had obviously taken out his frustration on them.

"Come on then Harry, let's be off." Charlus said, giving Harry a soft push forwards the stairs.  
Harry sighed heavily, he really didn't want to go on his own, he was sure to get loads of attention about being the new Potter boy.  
Dorea gave them a wave as they left the house and Harry followed his father down the lane.

They appeared with a crack in front of a row of familiar houses.

Harry eyed his godfathers visible family home in surprise before turning to eye his father, who was digging through his pockets.  
"Have a look at this note Harry and memorise the text." Charlus instructed, handing Harry a small card.  
_**The noble house of Black, Number twelve Grimmauld Place. **_Was written ornamentally in green ink, on the thick cream card.  
Harry glanced again at the, still very visible, house and then nodded at his father's expectant look.  
Charlus led the way up towards the shiny black door and pressed the doorbell. Harry, who was lost in thought wondering how he could see the house, made it to the door just in time to see it open.

"Charlus and young Harry, how nice to see you both! Please enter our home and feel welcome." Mr Black greeted.  
Charlus smiled broadly whilst Harry eyed Sirius father suspiciously. Surely he was acting far too welcoming, Sirius had always given him the impression that his parents were anything but welcoming.

"Nice to see you so soon again Orion, I have brought you your books back, thank you ever so much for the loan, they were just what I was looking for." Charlus said, handing over a couple of books to Mr Black, who looked very pleased.

"One can never be too careful, when it comes to wards and safety." He said, patting the books softly.  
Harry scowled, figures the wards his father had been working on came from here, no wonder they'd tried to kill him earlier in the summer.  
"And how are you, young Harry? Having a productive summer so far?" Mr Black asked, making Harry quickly school his expression into a more neutral one.

"The holiday has been very good so far, sir. Thank you for inviting us to your son's party." Harry said politely.

"And where is James and Dorea? I hope that they are well?" Mr Black asked, making Charlus sigh. Harry didn't think Mr Black looked too worried but allowed it to pass without comment.

"I am afraid James failed to finish his school work in the agreed upon time and is as we speak putting the last touches to them. He and Dorea should be here shortly, we agreed that James should be made aware that an agreement is made to be upheld by both sides." Charlus said, pulling a hand through his hair tiredly.

Mr Black eyed him knowingly.  
"Indeed, Sirius was given a similar choice in the beginning of the holiday and chose to finish his work on time. I assume that Harry here, held his part of the agreement?" Mr Black asked, eyeing Harry expectantly.

"Yes sir, I finished all the work earlier in the summer, I didn't see any point in leaving it until last minute." Harry answered. Besides the work had been really easy to do and Harry had assumed that James had finished his as well as Harry had offered to help his brother, who'd said he'd finished too.

"Good boy! Well, both the boys are upstairs, on the fourth floor. Why don't you join them?" Mr Black suggested.  
Harry glanced at his dad and then led the way upstairs with the adults following.

Mr Black and his dad entered the drawing room on the first floor and left him to climb the rest of the stairs on his own.  
He marvelled at the difference in the house compared to the last time he'd been there. He was used to it looking scruffy and unkempt but as he slowly made it upstairs he took in the immaculate interior.  
The snakes, which decorated almost everything, gleamed in the gas light and Harry was very tempted to bend down and touch the lush carpet underfoot.  
He made it upstairs under the wakeful gaze of several deceased Black portraits, none who seemed very talkative thankfully.

The door to Sirius room stood open and Harry spied the boy in question lying on his bed reading a magazine.

"Harry! Finally, I've been waiting for you guys for ever!" Sirius exclaimed, noticing Harry hovering in the doorway.  
"Where's James?" He asked, peering into the landing for his best friend.

"He's at home finishing his homework, he'll be here any moment though." Harry said, with a reassuring smile.

"I finished my homework ages ago." Sirius said, sounding surprised.

"Yes, me too." Harry said, glancing around the room curiously.  
Sirius had definitely put his mark on the room, with a Gryffindor banner hanging above his bed and numerous Quidditch posters on the wall. It didn't look as if it belonged with the rest of the house to be honest.

"Hi Harry." Regulus said, having appeared in the doorway, eying Harry intently.

"What do you want?" Sirius sneered, making Regulus stiffen.

"Hi Regulus, congratulations on getting the letter, I have something for you." Harry said, ignoring Sirius completely.  
He held out the parcel he'd wrapped before leaving and watched as Regulus accepted it somewhat suspiciously.

The boy carefully removed the paper before giving Harry a small smile.  
"Thank you, it's great." He said, opening the covers of Hogwarts a History. Harry smiled back, relieved that the younger boy liked the gift.

Sirius eyed the book with a bored look.  
"There got your gift, you can leave my room now." He said, glaring at his brother.

Harry frowned at the tone he was using, seriously, did he have to be so rude.  
"So are you excited about going to Hogwarts, must be really fun the closer we get right?" Harry asked, thus stopping Regulus from leaving the room.  
The boy eyed Sirius once before glancing back towards Harry with a small smile.

"I'm really looking forwards to September first, we're getting all our stuff after Sirius party, which will be great as I can't wait to get all my books." Regulus answered, leaning against Sirius desk.

"So who all are coming today?" Harry asked curiously, making Regulus straighten.  
Sirius sighed loudly but was ignored by the both of them and finally lounged back on his bed with the magazine.

"Well, pretty much all of the family and I invited your friend Severus too." Regulus said, eyeing Harry expectantly.

"We'll be surrounded by evil Slytherin's basically." Sirius muttered from behind the paper.

"Better than a bunch of Gryffindorks!" Regulus quipped, making Sirius sit up with a glare.

A loud crack announced the arrival of Kreacher, who bowed before them, breaking the brothers sneering match.  
"Master Black is wanting all the young masters to come to the drawing room, where guests are waiting." Kreacher intoned, gravelly.

"Thank you." Regulus said softly, giving Kreacher a fond look.  
Sirius sneered at them all before pushing his way past the elf.  
Regulus and Harry followed him downstairs and watched as his face went from glum to delighted at the sight of James.

"And here he is, the latest Black prodigy! Come and greet your grandfather!" An old man ordered at the sight of Regulus entering the room.

"Hello grandfather, lovely to see you again, sir." Regulus said, embracing the man, Harry observed as several Galleons made it into Regulus pocket before the two broke apart.

"Nice to see you again Mr Potter." Harry turned and spotted a very pleased looking Lucius Malfoy.

"Mr Malfoy, nice to see you as well." Harry greeted before eyeing the blond woman standing slightly behind him.

"Oh, allow me to introduce my mother. Mother this is Harry Potter a promising student at school." Lucius introduced, ignoring his mother's glare.

"Mrs Malfoy, a pleasure." Harry hurried to say, as she didn't seem inclined to say anything at all.  
She gave him an intent look before sending her son another glare. She sniffed once and then moved away from them to join the gaggle of women standing on one side of the room.

"Don't take it personally, she and my father are supporters of the man you've managed to single handedly annoy." Lucius said lightly.

"And you, are you a supporter of his too?" Harry asked, throwing caution to the wind.

"I have decided to wait and see, for now my time is taken up with the muggleborn educations bill. Besides, you do have a point about power and the way it is used. My parents are being understanding about my choice." Lucius said, looking around the room regally.  
Harry glanced at Mrs Malfoy, who eyed her son with a rather fierce look in her eyes and felt that Malfoy might be taking their understanding a tad too lightly.

"Is your father here too?" Harry asked, looking around for another blond in the sea of brunettes and blacks.

"My father has unfortunately been taken ill." Lucius said, with a strange look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Harry mumbled, as even someone like Lucius was bound to feel sad at a parent's sudden illness.  
Lucius nodded his thanks and excused himself at the appearance of Narcissa further in the room.

"…he's a Ravenclaw with very high marks in all of his classes. " Harry turned and eyed Andromeda black, Narcissa's older sister, who stood talking quietly to her mother.

"And still a filthy mudblood, you will not continue to see this boy. Do you understand me?" Her mother hissed, making Andromeda's eyes darken.

"I don't care about all that blood crap anyway!" Andromeda hissed back.

Her mother stiffened furiously.  
"We will talk about this when we return home, this is not the time nor the place for a conversation such as this." She sneered, stepping away from her daughter who looked ready to pull her wand.

Harry slowly moved away and meandered through the crowd towards his parents before being un-ceremonially pulled behind a curtain.

"I'll kill you, slowly for wha…" Harry coughed at the sudden tight grip around his neck and blinked when it disappeared just as quickly.

Bellatrix Black, eyed him furiously, whilst Mr Black gave her stunned body a dark look.  
"In my home you stupid child and against one of my guest." He hissed, before glancing at Harry.  
He raised his wand and made the pain in Harry's neck go away. Harry's now slightly rumpled robe became crease free and Harry swallowed hard, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the suddenness of the attack.

"My niece will no longer be attending the party Harry, neither will she be causing you any more grief." Mr Black said with dark promise.  
"I do apologise for her repeated, disgusting actions and hope you won't hold it against the family." He added seriously. Harry swallowed again and quickly made it out from behind the curtain with a last look at the two Black's.

"So you're the new Potter boy, stand up straight and let me have a look at you!" A man ordered, grabbing hold of Harry's shoulders.  
Harry stiffened, really not up for more attacks, before noticing Sirius and James, who snickered evilly at his predicament.

"This is my uncle Alphard, he's super cool!" Sirius introduced, making the man smile broadly.

"I'll make you my heir, just for that Sirius!" The man exclaimed, patting Sirius on the head fondly.  
Harry, whose heart still beat far too quickly to be normal, nodded at the man somewhat distractedly as he tried to spot Mr Black and Bellatrix.  
He didn't see either of them but did spot Severus and another Slytherin, Evan Rosier talking in a corner.

They were all invited into the dining room where a feast had been laid out on the table.  
Harry didn't relax again, until Mr Black returned minus Bellatrix and everyone was seated.  
He was wondering where the crazy Black had been left but felt reassured that he'd be going home again after the meal.

Sirius uncle Alphard was a real character and Harry could see where Sirius may have gone right.  
The man clearly adored his nephew and spent the meal flicking his wand in the boy's direction, moving Sirius food around on the plate for him to chase with his fork. He only stopped whenever Mrs Black happened to be glancing his way.

Regulus was clearly the more sedate of the brothers and Harry spotted more than one adult in the room eyeing his straight posture and good table manners appreciatively. Whereas Sirius sat with his elbows on the table, waving his knife in the air to punctuate a point he was making to the smiling James.

Harry turned his head at Narcissa's low laugh and gave her and her company a slow perusal.  
Narcissa was seated between Lucius and her sister Andromeda.  
Harry still couldn't get over how alike Andromeda was to Bellatrix.

Andromeda was poking the food on her plate somewhat absentmindedly before catching Harry staring at her. She then straightened and looked around the table to see if anyone else was watching her.

Harry turned his eye on Severus and Evan, who were seated on his right.  
"I still say muggles are stupid." Evan hissed under his breath, making Harry roll his eyes.  
Every time Harry met the other boy, he seemed to be having the same conversation. He was hung up on muggles being stupid, clearly he'd been brainwashed at birth.  
Harry really didn't understand how Severus could stand the same conversation, day in and day out down in the Slytherin common room. But then he mostly hung around Avery or the Gryffindor gang, so maybe he didn't have to listen to it too much.  
Severus eyed Harry, who rolled his eyes, darkly.

"Hey Evan, did you know that muggles have gone to the moon?" Harry whispered, making the boy stare at him in surprise.

"How? With a broom? Oh, that's right they have no magic." Evan snorted, after a moment of thought, clearly not believing Harry.

"No, they use rockets." Severus said quietly, making Evan turn his head slightly.

The boy then eyed him with narrowing eyes.  
"I don't know what that is, but it's probably something stupid." He sniffed, turning his nose up in the air.

Harry eyed him a moment before smiling crookedly.  
"Do you know what an aeroplane is?" Harry asked, making the other boy frown.

"Another stupid muggle contraption? Why would I care?" Evan asked, glaring at Harry.

"Well I find it interesting that muggles are clever enough to build things that travel to the moon and that they can fly hundreds of people from one country to another in one go. I mean how many people can you fit on a broom and fly to France?" Harry asked.  
Evan sneered at him and turned his head the other way without an answer, leaving Harry to shrug at Severus, who eyed him with a tired look.  
The other boy was clearly, very easily offended.

Harry and the Potters returned home later in the evening after a tiring party and Harry made it straight for Iggy, who gave him a sleepy stare before popping his head back under his wing, still looking scruffy and old.  
"Be like that then, not like I wanted to tell you about Bellatrix trying to kill me again." Harry muttered, scowling when he failed at getting a reaction from the phoenix.

He hadn't mentioned the incident to his parents, not wanting to cause a fuss, he also hoped that Mr Black meant what he promised about Bellatrix not attacking him anymore.  
He had a restless night full of strange dreams, where Bellatrix pushed him against walls and laughed manically.

The next morning Harry made it down to the kitchen bleary eyed.  
He glanced at his parents who stood smiling at him, feeling somewhat confused and wondered if his hair stood up more than usual. James looked ready to pop in his seat, barely able to stay on the chair.

"Harry guess what! We're going to France! After breakfast!" James exclaimed excitedly, pointing at a note in the middle of the table that said, eat up because we're going to France.  
"Come on, stuff it in, I want to visit the beach." James added, handing Harry a bread roll. Harry eyed the roll and then his parents.

"France? The beach?" He asked, taking a bite of the roll. Dorea laughed and came forward to give him a hug.

"You're a bit slower than usual darling, clearly the party yesterday tired you out." She mumbled into his hair.  
"We wanted to get away for a bit, but we will be back in time for Sirius birthday party!" She promised, giving James a look. Clearly he'd already questioned the issue.

Said and true, they left by the use of portkey after breakfast. Harry eyed the golden key in his dads hand, disgustedly from the ground where he'd landed. His parents and James all eyed him surprised before his father helped him stand up.

James burst into laughter, making Harry glare at him too.  
"I hate portkeys, they're stupid, evil things!" Harry snapped, before spotting the beach and going speechless at the white sand and the turquoise water.  
Iggy, who'd flashed over from England on his own, flew towards the cottage and started preening his scruffy feathers.  
He was due a burning day at any moment but hadn't wanted to stay all alone in the Potters house.

"Last one in, is a flobberworm!" James called, tearing his t-shirt off. Harry quickly kicked his shoes off and ran into the water fully clothed.  
"That's cheating!" James called angrily from the beach.

"Sorry, I don't speak flobber-wormish!" Harry called back, laughing at his own wit.  
James proceeded in trying to drown him but eventually they settled for trying to find as many shells as they could to line up on the beach.

The time in France was the best holiday Harry had ever had, but then seeing as his only other proper holiday had been with the Dursley's out on a rock in the middle of a storm, he didn't think he had that much to compare with.

He and James had made friends with some of the local children, none of them English speaking and had barely seen their parents other than at dinner time. They went boating, cliff climbing, built epic sandcastles and learnt how to annoy sand gnomes.

James had teased Harry merciless about one of the girls, who'd taken to teaching him French, until said girl had given Harry a very thorough kiss in front of everybody.  
James was now instead badgering him with questions, on how it had felt to be kissed by a girl.

Harry was rather shocked about the whole thing actually and still was, every time Claudette grabbed hold of him.  
He'd tried to say no, due to the age difference, but she wouldn't listen. Not that he should feel too bad about it, seeing as she was fifteen and he supposedly twelve.  
She cried all over him when it was time for the Potter's to return to England and Mrs Potter cried too at the sight of Harry getting a last smooch.  
Young love and all that, she'd mumbled into her tissue. Harry just figured that girls were strange, no matter what age they were.

It was two sun kissed boys, that appeared in the park near to the Black's residence for Sirius birthday party.  
Harry read the plaque on the fence surrounding the park in surprise.

_**The northwest London children's park  
Donated by the noble House of Black for the enjoyment of all magical children.**_

Harry guessed that they really meant all pure blooded magical children.

He did wonder why Sirius never told anyone about the park before unless he, Harry, had been the only one not told due to the fear of Voldemort finding him.  
He scowled darkly at the thought and eyed the lush greenery and the serene surroundings crossly. The park looked perfect and he loved it.

"Harry, come on!" James called, from a gazebo where Sirius sat lording over a table full of presents.  
Harry slowly made it over, humming along to the song that was playing on the wireless.  
The park was decked out for a party with floating balloons, a drinking fountain spouting pumpkin juice and buckets overflowing with sweets placed all over the large park.

"Happy birthday." Harry said, handing over the present of French sweets he'd bought.  
Sirius ripped the paper off and sampled one of the sweets immediately.  
He smiled at the taste and opened his mouth to say thank you, when a large flame shoot out instead of words.

James laughed wickedly and Sirius blinked looking rather shocked for a second before blowing out another flame, this time at the papers littering the ground around the table.  
James stomped out the fire it caused and Sirius smiled at Harry again.  
"That was wicked! Thank you so much!" He gushed, placing the lid back on the sweet box and carefully tucking it into his pocket for safe keeping. Harry grinned, having felt rather sure that the present was going to be appreciated.

"Hi Harry." Alice greeted, making him eye her in surprise.

"Sirius invited you, a girl, to the party?" Harry asked in an exaggerated voice, making her laugh.

"Yes, who would believe it, right. My cousin Hortensia Vane was invited and they said that I could come too. Lily wasn't invited though but Sirius sent her a nice letter explaining the issue with his family." Alice said, making Harry glance at Sirius fondly.

"Hi Harry, how are you?" Regulus asked, glaring at Alice as if to say beat it I'm here now.

"I'm good, how are you? You met Alice at my party right?" Harry introduced, pulling Alice closer to stop her from leaving at the rude greeting she was receiving from Sirius brother.

"Yes, hello." Regulus greeted shortly.  
"Do you want to come and see my new broom Harry? My Grandfather gave it to me." Regulus asked, ignoring Alice and focusing completely on Harry.

"Do you want to see it?" Harry asked Alice, who glanced at the now openly scowling Regulus before shaking her head carefully.

"I'll come and see it later if that's ok, I haven't seen Alice since my party." Harry said lightly. Regulus nodded looking glum and shuffled off towards Severus.

"He's kind of intense isn't he? He looks so much like Sirius when he frowns like that." Alice commented, making Harry eye the younger boy again.

"I guess, so have you done anything fun since we last met?" Harry asked, making her smile.

"I bet it won't be as much fun as Harry had." James sing-songed, behind them.  
"He was smooching this French girl all the time we were there. Kissy-kissy!" James teased, before running off with a squeal as Harry launched himself at his brother.  
Sirius cheered for James to get away, whilst Harry deliberated on whether or not to grab Regulus new broom to aid him in the chase.

"Harry and Claudette sitting in a tree…" James called as he ran with Harry close on his heels.

"At least a girl actually wanted to kiss him, how many girls have you kissed James?" Frank asked, once Harry and James returned to the others, out of breath but smiling.

"How many girls have you kissed?" James countered.

"Loads!" Frank answered with a pleased grin. James face fell and he eyed Frank with an open mouth.  
"There's just something lovely about girls, isn't there Harry? So soft and cuddly." Frank said dreamily, making Harry shrug uncomfortably at the sight of Alice red cheeks.

"I can get a girl to kiss me!" James said crossly, looking around.  
He eyed Alice speculatively and frowned when she hurried towards her parents for safety before he even had a chance to say another word.  
Both Frank and Harry burst into laughter at the look of dismay on James's face at her leaving.  
"Snape hasn't kissed anyone!" James said, pointing at the boy in question as he walked towards them closely followed by Regulus.

"Actually he has." Frank said, making Severus glare at him.

"You swore you wouldn't say anything!" Severus hissed, making Frank shrug. James eyed the Slytherin in shock.

"Who? Who did you kiss?" He demanded to know, Sirius was eyeing the Slytherin in question too.  
Harry rolled his eyes and got ready to change the topic, he really didn't want to know who Snape had kissed, as he had a vague idea who it might be.

"Look, why don't we play a game of hide and seek instead of just standing here." Regulus suggested, making Sirius glare.

"Nobody wants to play that!" Sirius sneered, making Regulus stiffen.  
But as several affirmatives were called out, he changed his mind.  
"Ok, Reg is the counter!" Sirius called, before running off.

Regulus sighed before closing his eyes and starting a countdown.

The rest of them gave each other a last look before spreading out in different directions.

Harry ran towards a group of trees at the edge of the park and hid behind the thickest trunk.  
He could see Sirius climbing the gazebo and lying down on the top, completely hidden from view. James hid under one of the many tables, ignoring the looks of dismay from the adults seated around said table.  
Alice hid behind a tree not far from where her parents stood and Severus was nowhere to be seen.  
Frank had grabbed a hat from somewhere and stood out in the open, clearly counting on Regulus overlooking him.

Harry smiled when Regulus finally stopped counting and wondered if he should try to climb the tree he was hiding behind. He looked up and tried to gauge if he could reach the lowest branch when he heard a snap behind him.

"Got you." Was all the warning he got before he was dragged over the park fence and felt the compressing feeling of being apparated away.

* * *

_**So, what do you think?...Little cliffie there, i feel so evil. Muhahaha...**_


	3. It's all about the boy

_**Hello, I felt bad for leaving you with that cliffie, so here you go as a thank you for all the nice reviews I received.  
I should be revising for my tests but oh, well. I hope you like the chappie. Mina  
**_

* * *

**It's all about the boy**

Harry fell to the soft ground, from a hard push to his back and quickly tried to put some distance between himself and his abductor.  
The person moved into Harry's vision and he gave the man a passing glance before taking a good look around the clearing that they had appeared into.  
He was pretty sure that he'd be reintroduced to Bellatrix again and felt stupid for not paying good enough attention to his surroundings at the party.

"You're an arrogant little boy, aren't you?" The man asked, clearly annoyed with Harry's quick dismissal.  
"She said that you were." He smirked, getting Harry's attention.  
Harry glanced at the surrounding trees again and wondered which one she'd be jumping out from. He was unprepared for the sudden flare of fiery pain that coursed through his body and cursed himself for being distracted.  
"Where are your manners boy?" The man snapped, watching Harry gasp for air.  
"I guess you're upset that I ended your little children's game early, why don't we play a game here instead." He suggested with a dark smile.

"Where's Bellatrix?" Harry asked, making the man smirk.

"Clever little boy, figured it out did you? She'll be here after making sure everybody sees her at the party." The man said, flicking his wand at Harry.

Harry rolled away from the curse sent his way and pulled his own wand out.  
"I shall take care of that, thank you." Lord Voldemort said, making his presence known before summoning Harry's wand. The Deatheater took the opportunity to hit Harry with another cruciatus.

Harry managed to keep from crying out by sheer will alone, he would not bring the man the satisfaction of screaming.

He did scream though, when the man brought his boot down on Harry's lower leg hard enough to cause a loud crack to echo in the clearing.  
"I'd like to see you dodge my curses now, boy." The man sneered before stepping aside, so that the Dark Lord could approach.

"What am I to do with you Mr Potter? People are starting to talk and I don't like the topic." Voldemort muttered, standing over Harry's aching body.  
He flicked his wand and Harry was once again under the influence of the cruciatus. Voldemort laughed at the gasping noises that escaped Harry's tightly closed lips.  
"I'm impressed, mostly annoyed but definitely impressed, boy. You have real spark within you, it's a pity to have to put that out." The Dark Lord said, sounding rather apologetic.  
"I can't have people talking about you though, it instils false hope and people are ever so tiring when they believe there is a chance of survival." He added glancing at Harry, who was leaning against one of the trees trying to manage the pain.  
Voldemort smiled darkly and perused the clearing.  
"A lovely place for you to rest in, don't you think?" He asked, his back to Harry.

Harry fought to get his breathing under control and focused on his wand in Voldemort's pocket. He'd done wandless summoning's before and silently cheered when it returned to his hand.  
He raised the wand and then screamed in both pain and terror.  
"Oh no you don't, you naughty boy." Harry hardly heard the Deatheater's chiding words as the pain dulled everything else.  
Voldemort turned and eyed them silently and the Deatheater stepped back into the shadows without causing any more damage.

"Iggy, Iggy please help." Harry mumbled, frantically trying to call Iggy.

Voldemort stared down at him and Harry swallowed down hard, biting his lip.  
"You are one of the few wizards I consider a possible threat, Mr Potter. A small one still, but I can't allow you to grow into my equal." Voldemort said moving Harry's hand, which lay amputated on the ground, with the tip of his boot.  
"I'm a busy man, with an even busier schedule. I'm afraid I'll have to bring our time here to an end as I am leaving the country for a business trip." Voldemort continued before lifting his wand, once again. He gave Harry, who was trying to stop the blood from gushing out of his arm, a last look as if to put the moment to memory.

"Tom, I would kindly ask that you step away from my student." Dumbledore ordered, stepping out from the trees.

Voldemort swore and looked from Harry to Dumbledore with a glare.  
"Have you placed a bloody tracker on the boy?" He asked, making the corners of Dumbledore's mouth curve ever so slightly.

"Are you able to hold on a moment longer Harry?" Dumbledore asked softly, ignoring Voldemort's insulted face.  
Harry nodded tiredly, feeling such a sense of relief that his head started spinning.  
He leaned backwards on the tree and closed his eyes, letting the sounds around him become a buzz. He could hear Dumbledore and Voldemort duel but didn't have the energy to open his eyes and watch. It was sure to be a magnificent fight though as it had been in the atrium at the Ministry of Magic and Harry could feel the hairs on his arms raise at the amount of magic being used in the small clearing.

He did wonder at one point where the Deatheater was but couldn't quite bring himself to care anymore.  
Reality seemed so far away and his body was finally starting to let go of the terrible pain.  
One of the trees to his right snapped from a spell and came crashing to the ground with an almighty bang, bringing Harry back to the present and he looked around the clearing with dazed eyes.  
Once the dust settled he spotted the Deatheater hanging upside down in the air, bound and gagged, eyes wide with terror.

He blinked and then more trees fell.  
"Can you stand Harry?" Dumbledore suddenly asked, making Harry blink owlishly, was it over already he wondered.

"Has Bellatrix arrived yet? The man said she would." Harry mumbled, trying to focus on the headmaster's blurry face.  
He wondered if he'd lost his glasses and was rather surprised at finding them still perched on his nose, when he reached up to check.  
He went to grab the headmaster's outstretched hand and swallowed hard at the sight of his missing hand. Blood was still pumping out of the wound, now that he'd stopped putting pressure on it, but Harry was more worried about his wand being lost.  
"My wand is with my hand I think." He mumbled, looking around himself.

The headmaster pulled him up from the ground and the world rushed to meet him before the lights went out.

Harry woke with a gasp and raised his hand in the air, all he could see was a white blob and he quickly searched for his glasses.  
A white cast covered his hand and he tried to pull it off.  
"You'll damage your new hand if you do that, dear." A woman said, coming closer.  
Harry eyed her suspiciously and looked around the room he was in.  
"Your parents are just talking to the healer outside, I'll go and get them for you." She added giving him a soft smile.

Harry tried to remember all that had happened and realised that Dumbledore must have brought him to St Mungos.  
He was ever so pleased to hear, that he had a hand again. He wondered if Dumbledore had been able to find his wand and where it was being kept as he couldn't see it.

"Oh Harry! How are you sweetheart? Are you in pain?" Mrs Potter rushed through the doorway with tears in her eyes.

"I'm alright mum." Harry mumbled, relaxing into her tight embrace. His leg suddenly cramped and he bit his lip hard to stop himself from screaming. She stepped back at his suddenly tense body, afraid that she'd hurt him.

"Here you go Mr Potter, drink all of it." The nurse promptly instructed, holding a vial to his lips, he swallowed down the potion and grimaced at the taste.  
The pain in his leg eased and he mumbled a thank you to her making her straighten out his sheets with a soft smile on her face.  
"You have some nerve damage where the break was, we have healed the bones but you might get cramps as the nerves heal." She said, placing another vial on his bedside table.  
"That's a muscle relaxant, take it if your leg pains you." She ordered, glancing at his parents.

"Are you alright Harry?" James asked meekly, peeking out from behind their father as the nurse left the room.  
Harry nodded and James moved forwards looking relieved.  
"Did you really lose your hand?" He asked after a moment of silently observing his brother. Harry didn't' have a chance to respond before James was pulled aside by their mother.

"The Deatheater and Miss Black have both been arrested, the dark Lord managed to escape though. I'm not sure if they'll keep Miss Black for long but I doubt she'll be causing us trouble anymore." Mr Potter said, making Harry furrow his brows. That was pretty much what Mr Black had said and look how well that had turned out.

"Mr Black took away her memory, she doesn't know anything." James piped up with big eyes, having moved closer to Harrys bed, making their dad frown.

"And you would know this how? I'm pretty sure that you weren't there when the _adults_ held that conversation." Mr Potter pointed out, bringing out a guilty look on James's face.  
"Eavesdropping is a bad habit to have James. I don't want to find you doing it again, Is that clear?" He added sternly, making James nod quickly.

"When can I go home?" Harry asked, breaking the tension in the room.  
"Is Iggy alright by the way?" He added, he was fairly sure that Iggy had burned today as he would have come before otherwise.

"Iggy is alright, worried for you though. We found him on the stairs at home when we came back, he calmed down when we told him you'd been found." Mr Potter said, making Harry let out a breath of relief.

A man entered and smiled at Harry.  
"Hello Mr Potter, I am Healer Jones. I hear the leg gave you a bit of grief, did the potion take all the pain away?" He asked, lifting the blanket up by Harry's legs and giving them a scan with his wand.  
"Now, you may well have some problems with the leg for a time but we hope that the potion will help until the nerves heal completely." The healer said, tucking the blanket back around his legs.  
"You were under the Cruciatus for an extended time and it made the healing of the leg a bit harder, you are not to stress the leg by lots of running about. I want you to stay off them as much as possible, with only gentle walking as exercise." He added, making Harry sigh.  
"Let's get this cast of now then." He said in a cheery voice and Harry held his breath.

The hand looked fine, just as it always had, to Harry's surprise. He moved the fingers and smiled in thanks to the Healer who held out his hand for Harry to shake.  
The healer moved to the side with his parents and spoke in a too low voice for Harry to hear and he sighed again, he hated being kept out of his own business.

"Headmaster Dumbledore came to the party before we even knew that you were gone and asked where you were. That's how we knew that you'd been taken and then Mr Black got mad at Bellatrix and started shouting at her." James whispered, eager to share his side of events. He glanced at their parents before turning to Harry again.  
"Then Dumbledore left and we got a note from his Phoenix saying that you were here at St Mungos." He added, making Harry nod as he had wondered how Dumbledore had known to come.  
It still didn't explain how Dumbledore knew that he'd been taken and where, unless he did have a tracking spell put on Harry.  
"Dumbledore left for the ministry as soon as we got here yesterday, oh and dad has your wand by the way." James said, making Harry perk up.  
"Why did you have it with you to the party? You know we're not allowed to do magic outside of school." He asked, making Harry roll his eyes.

"So? Doesn't mean we should walk around without being able to, if we need to use it. And I clearly I do." Harry said, making James nod slowly.

The next few weeks drudged along at a slower than slow pace and Harry thought that he was going to go mad from boredom before starting school again.  
He'd been promised a trip to Diagon Alley though, if he followed the Healer's orders of rest.

The shopping had gone very smoothly as most of the books had been bought already by their parents.  
"We don't want you to tire yourself out after all Harry." His mother had mumbled, stroking his hair.  
They had gotten their robes and James an owl, as he wanted a pet as well.  
James had of course taken to writing lots of letters for it to deliver, most of them to Harry, who thought that James was being rather ridiculous seeing as the owl only had to jump from one window to the next to get to him.

Iggy had been stuck like glue to Harry since his return home, the poor bird was devastated at having had such a bad timing with his burning day. Harry had tried to comfort him as he doubted that the bird had any choice of when to become a baby again.

Sirius had been over for a visit one day, with a small trunk full of books for Harry to read as he was convalescing. They were apparently from his father, as an offering of apology for not keeping Bellatrix away from him.  
"Dad obliviated you and the Dark Lord from her memory completely, she doesn't even remember your names if you mention them to her. The Aurors were kind of angry with him as they can't prosecute her as badly since she's already being punished and doesn't remember why." Sirius had told them, sitting cross-legged on Harry's bed with James hanging on to his every word.  
"The whole family is furious with her, even my aunt and uncle, I never thought I'd see the day as she was one of the good ones of the family before." He added, rubbing his head.  
"You know, big muggleborn hater and all that." He mumbled.

Harry found the books from Mr Black to be really interesting as they ranged from everything like defence to herbology. He especially liked the spell builder book as it started to explain how you could build new spells, very difficult but interesting.

A couple of days after Sirius visit, Harry had been told that the Deatheater had been sentenced to life in Azkaban for his crime against Harry. He had also been found guilty of other crimes with the use of Veritaserum.  
Bellatrix had been sentenced to five years in Azkaban but would be spending some time in St Mungos as the Aurors wanted her lost memories.

By the time September first arrived, Harry was more than ready to leave for Hogwarts.  
He had met with the Healer several times as his leg was checked and rechecked for its healing progress. It had cramped numerous times and would probably continue to do for a while longer, according to Healer Jones.  
Madam Pomfrey had been given a copy of his journal and was ready for his arrival to school, he would be seeing her regularly again it seemed.  
Harry had gotten used to carrying a small vial of muscle relaxant in his pocket, just in case, and was rather good at anticipating when the cramps would come.

"Harry, sweetheart, try not to get into trouble now." Mrs Potter said on the platform at kings cross.

Harry scowled at the notion of him getting into trouble on purpose but nodded at her pleading look.  
"I'll do my best mum." He answered, turning to say goodbye to his father, who settled for giving him a hard hug.

"And you James, don't cause trouble! I don't want any more floo calls from Minerva, do you understand?" Mrs Potter said sternly, to which James shrugged.

"I'll do my best." He said echoing Harry, before pulling his trunk towards the train with a bright smile on his face.

"I mean it young man!" His mum called after him, sighing as he disappeared from sight.  
"That boy…" She muttered, giving Harry another kiss and hug before Mr Potter helped him get his trunk onto the train.  
"Take care, write and be careful! Oh and keep an eye on your brother, please." She called as the train started moving.

Harry smiled and waved until the platform disappeared, It was great to be on his way back to school again.

* * *

_**Ok, that done: ) Next chapter might take some time ( don't they all…) as I have four tests in the next two weeks. Math…and Science. I don't mind the science at all, I'd take a hundred science test to get away from the three math tests I have to do.  
Honestly, we have to do two oral tests…I really don't like math and even less when it's test time.  
Ok, Math rant over…  
What do you think?  
Mina  
**_


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